1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to strikes and more particularly to adjustable strikes.
2. Background Art
Double entrance doorways are used in a large variety of residential homes and commercial buildings. Typically, an active door provides for day to day ingress and egress to and from the residential home or building, and an inactive door remains closed, except in instances when a width greater than or equal to the width of the active door and less than or equal to the width of the double entrance doorway is required, such as, for example, for delivery of furniture and/or equipment that cannot fit through the double entrance doorway. If large objects, such as furniture and/or equipment must pass through the double entrance doorway, both the normally inactive door and the active door of the doorway are opened, to create a wide entrance way, through which the furniture and/or equipment may pass.
Mating edges of the inactive door and the active door do not typically contact one another directly, but are separated by an astragal, the astragal being attached to the edge of an inactive leaf, the astragal extending the length of the inactive door, cushioning the closing of the active door and associated inactive leaf of the doorway, and sealing gaps between the inactive door and the active door.
The astragals often have upper and lower bolt-slide assemblies, which lock the astragals and the inactive doors to upper and lower portions of a door frame surrounding the double entrance door way. The upper and lower bolt-slide assemblies have bolts, which slide within upper and lower ends of the astragal, and are pushed outwardly from the inactive door to extend beyond the ends of the astragal, and are received by upper and lower apertures in the upper and lower portions of the door frame, also known as the header and threshold sill, respectively, to lock the inactive door in place.
The astragals typically have strike plates installed on the inactive door. The strike plates accept bolts, from deadbolts and locksets installed on the active door, which are used to lock the active door to the inactive door, and, thus, lock and restrict access through the double entrance doorway. The process of installing the strike plates on the inactive door requires alignment of the bolts with apertures of the strike plates, the process often time consuming and tedious, with strike fasteners difficult to locate and align on the astragal, often falling into the astragal, and jamming the astragal and other operating parts of the astragal.
There is thus a need for an adjustable strike mounting system, which allows at least one strike plate to be fastened to an astragal installed and/or incorporated into the edge of an inactive door of a double entrance doorway, facilitates quick, easy, and efficient installation and alignment of the strike plates with locks and deadbolts installed in the active door, allows vertical and horizontal movement of the strike plates in the astragal, facilitates location and alignment of fasteners, and minimizes loss of the fasteners within the astragal and resultant jamming of the astragal and other operating parts of the astragal.
The adjustable strike mounting system should have a cover plate, which can be mounted to an astragal having a housing, which has a longitudinal channel having retention guides, vertically slidable blocks, which have transverse slots, having horizontally slidable threaded elements, and spring leaves, which are adapted to hold the vertically slidable blocks in selected positions, the cover plates adapted to provide mounting surfaces for the strike plates, the cover plates abutting the retention guides, the strike plates having apertures, which can be aligned with locations of the locks and deadbolts quickly, easily, and efficiently.
Different adjustable strikes have heretofore been known. However, none of the adjustable strikes adequately satisfies these aforementioned needs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,350,207 and 5,328,217 (Sanders) disclose locking astragals, for attaching to an inactive leaf of a double doorway, and in particular U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,217 discloses an adjustable strike plate. Each of the locking astragals has an elongated astragal casing, which has a channel and bolt-slide assemblies mounted slidably within the channel. Each bolt-slide assembly includes a latching member and bolt. By depressing the latching member, the latching member can slide through the channel, to extend and lock the bolts into indentations in upper and lower surfaces of a door frame. The bolts may also be retracted back into the astragal, to open the inactive leaf. Each of the latching members has an integral spring, which simplifies fabrication and assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,326 (Massey, et al) discloses a swing adaptable astragal with lockable unitary flush bolt assemblies, for double door entryways, which includes an extruded aluminum frame into which upper and lower flush bolt assemblies are slidably disposed. The flush bolt assemblies include a long metal bolt about which is injection overmolded a series of retainer guides, which ride in the frame. Locking mechanisms are also integrally overmolded onto the bolts. The frame and all components of the astragal assembly are symmetrical and reversible, so that the assembly is non-handed; that is, it can be adapted to both a right hand swing and a left-hand swing inactive door. A strike plate mounting system and bottom-sealing block are provided, and the upper end of the assembly includes means for sealing against a stop of a head jamb. Drafts at upper and lower inside corners of the doors of a double door entryway may be prevented.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,151 (Nicholas, Jr., et al) discloses an adjustable door strike and mounting template, having a striker plate, a main body, and a slider plate. The main body is affixed to a door jamb, with the slider plate between the door jamb and the main body, and adjustably mounted for receiving a standard striker plate. The main body is provided with an elongated aperture in the vertical direction, which permits the striker plate to have a continuous range of adjustments in the vertical direction. A mounting template for facilitating the installation of a door strike is also disclosed. The adjustable door strike and mounting template allow for mounting a door lock with either or both a latch and a deadbolt, without adversely affecting the door jamb.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,050 (Mascotte) discloses an adjustable strike for door-locking and door-latching mechanisms of a door hingedly mounted onto a door frame, which comprises a plate member, having spaced openings mounted along an aperture of the door frame, and secured thereto for receiving plungers of the door-locking and door-latching mechanisms, to maintain the door in a closed and/or locked position. An adjustment member is located on the plate member adjacent at least the opening, for receiving the plunger of the door-latching mechanism, and being adjustable for engagement with such plunger to prevent play between the door and the door frame, when the door is in a closed and latched position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,397 (Allenbaugh) discloses an adjustable strike, comprising a strike plate, having a center section, with an aperture for receiving a bolt or latch, and upper and lower sections, disposed on opposite sides of the center section, that include interlock surfaces and horizontally elongated slots for receiving screws. Upper and lower keeper plates have corresponding interlock surfaces that engage those of the strike plate in a selected position to prevent movement of the strike plate. The keeper plates have round screw holes that can be aligned with the slots of the strike plate. Preferably, the interlock surfaces are formed by contiguous, V-shaped, vertically extending grooves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,293 (Paquette) discloses an adjustable strike for a latch bolt of a swinging door, the strike having a face plate to be placed over an appropriate cavity, and having a lip to extend into a doorway to engage and to press the latch bolt as the door closes. A flange is secured normal to the plate to extend into or beside the cavity, between the plate opening and the lip. A bolt extends through the flange, preferably being threaded therethrough. A movable wall, parallel to the flange, and spaced therefrom, is secured to the end of the bolt, and situated within the cavity behind the face plate, to be positioned within the plate opening, so that a keeper surface of the latch bolt bears against this wall, when the door is closed. Longitudinal movement of the bolt and the flange causes the wall to move towards or away from the flange, thereby altering the distance between the door stop and the movable wall. The wall is moved to a distance which provides a secure fit of the latch bolt and minimizes rattling of the closed door. The adjustable strike facilitates hanging of a door on a door frame, and subsequent adjustments required to minimize vibration of the door when closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,291 (Headrick) discloses an astragal with integral sealing lock block, for use with a double door installation, which includes an astragal strip secured along a vertical edge of an inactive door. A lock block is slidably disposed in at least one end of the astragal strip, and can be moved between an extended position, for securing the inactive door, and a retracted position for freeing the inactive door. The lock block has a projecting bolt receivable in a receptacle in a door frame, when the lock block is slid to its extended position. A gasket is secured to an end of the lock block, and the bolt passes through an opening in the gasket. The gasket engages and seals against the door frame, when the lock block is in its extended position. Gaskets are also provided on the sides of the lock block, for engaging and sealing against the doors of the double door installation. When the doors are closed and secured in place, the lock block and gasket assembly prevents drafts from flowing under the door installation beneath the astragal thereof.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,451 and Re. 35,618 (Goossens) disclose a gear hinge, having a thrust bearing. The hinge may include, in various combinations, gears having relatively small, rounded teeth, hinge members, which have anodized surfaces, bearings, which may be produced by a gas assisted injection molding process, and bearings, which are relatively hard.
Applications for gear hinges include swinging doors and folding curtains, used to divide large rooms. Typically, such hinges have bearing blocks, to prevent longitudinal movement of the gear hinges within the doors and folding curtains.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,208 (Goossens) discloses an intumescent security pin for fire rated doors. In a door assembly composed of a door frame, a door having a hinge side and a hinge supporting the door on the frame, for pivotal movement of the door between an open position and a closed position, the hinge side of the door facing, and being adjacent to, a portion of the frame when the door is in the closed position, the door is provided with a recess in the hinge side; and the assembly is further provided with at least one projecting element secured to the frame portion to project into the recess, when the door is in the closed position and having a mass of thermally intumescent material, which is expandable for securing the projecting element to the door, upon being heated above a predetermined temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,210 (Marts) discloses a continuous gear hinge with intumescent seals, having extruded aluminum leaves and an extruded aluminum cap, which holds the leaves together at meshed gear segments on the leaves, and has the capacity to establish a seal between the door and hinge jamb to which it is attached. That seal derives from intumescent strips, which lie in recesses that open out of the leaves. In the presence of a fire, the intumescent material, the strips of which extend the full length of the hinge, expands and bonds to the door and hinge jamb to not only seal the space between the two, but also to secure the door, should the hinge lose its capacity to hold the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,493 (St. Aubin) discloses an astragal housing seal and lock, for use in a double door assembly having an active door and a relatively inactive door. The astragal has a vertically extending mullion housing, which is attached to a free edge of the relatively inactive door. A vertically extending slide section is mounted on the mullion housing on a sealing side of the free edge of the inactive door. The slide section extends from the free vertical edge of the inactive door, when the active door is in the closed position. The slide section is vertically movable from an unlocked position to a locked position, wherein the slide section is moved vertically downward, with respect to the mullion housing, to engage the sill/threshold of the door frame, thereby preventing movement of the inactive door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,696 (Bursk) discloses a patio door assembly for removable astragal, in which a double door installation includes an astragal, which is removably mounted in a head jamb and sill portions of a door frame independently of the doors, the combination including a locking mechanism in one door, which incorporates a bolt arranged to project through the astragal into the other door to effect locking of both doors to each other and to the astragal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,893,594 and 5,678,871 (Zarzycki, Jr.) disclose a security astragal, which includes a security bar, that protects against tampering, having a door latching mechanism and a protective sheath, that secures the security bar from unauthorized removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,751 (Hartman) discloses a locking assembly for an astragal, which can be attached to an inactive door of a double door unit of a residence or a building. The astragal is attached to an edge of the inactive door in space between the inactive door and active door. A separate locking assembly is attached adjacent a top end of the door and also adjacent a bottom end of the door. A plug having an elongated locking bolt extending therefrom is mounted in a front end of a carriage member. Additional structure is provided for reciprocal travel of the carriage member between a locked position and an unlocked position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,450 (Procton) discloses an astragal, which has an exterior aluminum extrusion and an interior wooden portion. The exterior extrusion includes a pair of rearwardly extending center walls, which form a channel for receiving the wooden interior portion. Attachments and door hardware can be installed in the wooden interior portion, while the extruded exterior acts as cladding.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an adjustable strike mounting system, which allows at least one strike plate to be fastened to an astragal installed and/or incorporated into the edge of an inactive door of a double entrance doorway, facilitates quick, easy, and efficient installation and alignment of the strike plates with locks and deadbolts installed in the active door, allows vertical and horizontal movement of the strike plates in the astragal, facilitates location and alignment of fasteners, and minimizes loss of the fasteners within the astragal and resultant jamming of the astragal and other operating parts of the astragal. The adjustable strike mounting system should have a cover plate, which can be mounted to an astragal having a housing, which has a longitudinal channel having retention guides, vertically slidable blocks, which have transverse slots, having horizontally slidable threaded elements, and spring leaves, which are adapted to hold the vertically slidable blocks in selected positions, the cover plates adapted to provide mounting surfaces for the strike plates, the cover plates abutting the retention guides, the strike plates having apertures, which can be aligned with locations of the locks and deadbolts quickly, easily, and efficiently.